26 January 09
I was catching up on a backlog of podcasts and learned a little more about Palm’s webOS. As it turns out applications for webOS can be written with standards-based web technologies such as XHTML, Javascript, and CSS. This certainly opens the system up for a wide range of developers and will likely give their app base a jump start.
Weeks after CES the good vibes about Palm keep flowing. There is cautious optimism that they are back strong.
19 January 09
Big Spaceship is curating a site where agencies (or anyone) can submit Flash pre-loaders. It’s quite fun and hypnotizing to watch as each pre-loader loads the next. See if you can guess the brand or the client without looking in the bottom left. Pretty cool. http://www.prettyloaded.com/
18 January 09
Remember Blockbuster? With all the talk in the media about how Netflix has integrated their streaming service with yet another device, Apple and Amazon’s strong entry into the on-demand world, and services like Hulu and Boxee, Blockbuster seems like a distant memory.
After taking almost too long to play catch-up to Netflix’s mail service, the last I heard of them was when they were trying to buy Circuit City almost a year ago. All of this was sounding quite desperate to me, and I assumed their days were shortly numbered. During this year’s CES coverage, the hosts of one of CNET’s podcasts caught themselves doing the same. “Is Blockbuster even around anymore”, they half-joked.
Turns out they are, and they made their own big announcement at CES that they were getting ready to release their own streaming set-top device. Blockbuster clearly doesn’t have the media buzz that all of the other players have, but maybe their massive retail presence will allow them to stay in the game long enough to, well ... stay in the game.
09 January 09
Palm showed off the new Palm Pre today at CES - complete with their new platform webOS. The folks at CrunchGear caught a demo on video.
The Synergy feature looks very promising. It integrates calendar and contact info from your various email accounts and social networks into a single source.
You can certainly see the iPhone and the HTC TouchFlo influence on aspects of the UI, but Palm has definitely brought some fresh ideas to the table.
Sources are reporting that the Pre’s interface is faster and more responsive than the iPhone, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in the above video.
With the Blackberry and iPhone capturing so much market share in recent years, many believe that this is Palm’s last stand. While not revolutionary, with the early reviews pouring in, the Pre looks like it just might keep them in the game.
06 January 09
What attracts us to the objects we surround ourselves with? How do they define us and how we see ourselves?
Helvetica director Gary Hustwit brings us behind the curtain to meet the masters of industrial design with Objectified.